Compression socks for cabin crew and very frequent flyers

I did this for thirty years. The crew who lasted longest in the job were, almost without exception, the ones who looked after their legs.

Crew have the opposite problem to passengers

Worth stating clearly, because most advice about flying is written for people in seats.

Passengers are sitting still for hours. Crew are on their feet for hours, on a hard floor, in a moving building, in shoes chosen partly for how they look. It is a standing job with the added complication of turbulence and a galley.

The sock is much the same; what changes is how hard you are on it - the on-your-feet guide is closer to the mark than any travel guide.

Under uniform

Knee-high, plain, in whatever colour your airline expects. Under trousers it does not matter what they look like; with a skirt it does, so plain black or a proper skin-tone are the sensible options.

Plain and Simple is the straightforward one and the knee-high range has the rest.

Enough pairs for a roster

The practical bit nobody mentions. A pair wants washing after every duty, and hotel sinks are slow. Working a five-day trip on two pairs means wearing something damp.

Five pairs is not excessive for someone flying regularly, and multipacks make that affordable - the multipacks cover it, and the spending guide covers value.

Put them on before you leave home

Not in the crew room, not on the bus. You want them on for the drive, the walk through the terminal and the briefing - all of which is standing and sitting you do not count as work but your legs do.

On the layover

The part that matters most and gets skipped.

Take them off when you get to the room. Get horizontal for a bit with your feet up. Have a shower. Then, if you are going out, put a fresh pair on - not the ones you have just worked twelve hours in.

A short walk on a layover is better for you than lying down for the whole of it, however tempting the latter is.

Shoes

Beyond the scope of a sock shop, but it would be dishonest not to say it: your shoes matter at least as much as your socks. A well-fitting shoe with some give in it, replaced when it is done, is doing a lot of the work.

Socks help. They do not rescue shoes that are finished.

Sizing for a standing job

Measure your calf in the morning as usual. If you are between sizes, go up - twelve hours in a sock that is slightly tight at the top is a long twelve hours, and there is nowhere to escape to at 38,000 feet.

If knee-highs have always dug in, look at a genuine wide-calf cut rather than putting up with it - the wide-calf range is knitted wider, and the sizing guide covers measuring.

Making them last through a roster

Cool wash, inside out, no tumble dryer, and rotate the whole set rather than favouring one pair. Hotel-sink washing is fine - wring them gently in a towel rather than twisting, and hang them somewhere with air.

Heat is the enemy, and a hotel radiator is heat - the care and FAQs guide covers it.

Frequent flyers who are not crew

If you fly weekly for work, you are somewhere between the two - long sitting spells plus a lot of standing in terminals. Everything above about having enough pairs applies, and the passenger guidance covers the sectors themselves - the planes guide and the travel guide cover those.

Turnarounds versus long sectors

Different jobs for your legs, and worth planning for separately.

A day of short turnarounds is relentless standing with barely any sitting, and it is often harder than one long sector. You are up for the whole duty with no cruise to break it.

A long sector gives you a break in the middle, but it is a longer day overall and the dry air makes everything feel worse by the end. Both argue for the same sock; the turnaround days argue harder for good shoes - the work range covers both.

Compression on the flight deck

Pilots sit where crew stand, so the passenger guidance fits them better than the cabin-crew version.

Long sectors in a fixed seat with limited room to move is the classic sitting-still case, and the same knee-high sock suits it. Put them on before the drive to the airport rather than at the aircraft - the planes guide covers the sitting case in full.

Which to start with

Shift Ready is built for long days. Night Shift suits the back-of-the-clock rosters - the work range has the rest.

This is comfort advice, not medical advice.

The short version

• Crew are standing, not sitting - the work guidance fits better than travel guidance.
• Five pairs is not excessive on a roster; hotel sinks dry slowly.
• Put them on before leaving home, not in the crew room.
• Take them off on the layover, get your feet up, and change into a fresh pair to go out.
• Shoes matter as much as socks, and socks do not rescue shoes that are finished.

Frequently asked questions

Do cabin crew wear compression socks?

Plenty do. Crew have the opposite problem to passengers - standing for hours on a hard floor in a moving building rather than sitting still - so the guidance for people on their feet all day fits better.

How many pairs do I need for a roster?

Around five if you fly regularly. A pair wants washing after every duty and hotel sinks dry slowly, so working a five-day trip on two pairs means wearing something damp at some point.

What should I wear under uniform?

Knee-high and plain, in a colour your airline accepts. Under trousers the design is irrelevant; with a skirt, plain black or a proper skin tone are the sensible options.

What should I do on a layover?

Take them off when you reach the room, get your feet up for a while, and shower. If you go out, put on a fresh pair rather than the ones you just worked twelve hours in. A short walk beats lying down all day.

How do I wash them away from home?

Hotel-sink washing is fine. Wring them gently inside a towel rather than twisting, and hang them somewhere with moving air. Keep them off the radiator - heat is what destroys the stretch.